The Armored Core series represents the most comprehensive mech simulation on the PlayStation, and Armored Core: Master of Arena was designed to uphold that detail-oriented, yet quick-moving, simulation tradition. Play through a new set of missions with a new story, and build up your Armored Cores (known as ACs) to get your pound of flesh as you take the role of a young AC pilot who's sworn vengeance on a mysterious, terrorist AC, who killed your family. All that matters is catching the AC with the 9-ball emblem.
Your search for the enigmatic AC puts you straight into the Ravens' Nest, complete with the useful AC garage. You'll get orders via e-mail from your sponsor, and earn money by completing the assignments that also serve to further the storyline. The mission areas are large, polygon worlds in the underground cities of this post-apocalyptic future where clever AC design and construction demands clever piloting with equal usage of all available attacks, including energy swords, rocket launchers, shields, hand lasers, and really big energy cannons. Adding parts to your AC results in better performance and drastic changes in the appearance of the AC itself by letting you design your own AC emblems and color schemes to personalize these engines of destruction. The customization features come in handy when you take your labor of love into the arena against your friends' custom ACs to determine the best gear jockey.
Fans of the past games will instantly recognize some of the music. The garage theme, for example, is straight from Armored Core, and From Software stocks the game with all the requisite mech game sound effects. So if vengeance is a dish best served cold, Armored Core: Master of Arena allows you wait until the alloy cools, and isn't that all anyone really wants?
STORY:
Behind the scenes in Isaac City, two corporations are embroiled in a vicious fight for control and supremacy over the general populace. During one of the most violent encounters between the corporations, a large number of innocent civilians are caught up in the chaos and perish. One survivor, a young man, loses his entire family. A few months later, the embittered survivor decides to take action and exact revenge; his target is the pilot of an AC. That pilot is simply known as "Hustler One", and he pilots the AC around which events on that tragic day played out. In order to discover more and track down his quarry, the young man seeks out recruitment with the Ravens' Nest. And so, another Raven enters the fold…
CHARACTERS:
- Hustler One - The pilot of the AC, Nine-Ball, he has been the top-ranked Raven in the Arena since its inception. Not much is known about this figure, as few Ravens are willing to challenge him and he rarely accepts missions. However, one fact remains undisputed - he is a force to be reckoned with and displays few, if any, weaknesses.
- Lana Nielsen - An operator working for the Raven's Nest. Seemingly sympathetic she seeks out the player's character after he becomes a Raven and serves as his manager, promising to eventually lead the player into a confrontation with Nine Ball. However, as the game goes on her motivations come into question and like many things in the AC universe, she's not exactly what she seems. In the final fight where the Raven fights against Nine-Ball in his final form, she appears to be the first Hustler One that you fight.
- Elan Cubis - PROGTECH's chief of R&D and a major sponsor of the player's character. Cubis suspects that all may not be right within the Raven's Nest and he wants the player's character to help him with his investigation. However, as he begins to uncover more and more information it puts himself and his Raven partner in greater and greater danger. He even eventually finds himself in Nine-Ball's crosshair.
GAMEPLAY:
Master of Arena took the Arena set up, which was an optional feature in Project Phantasma and made it integral to the game’s plot. In addition to playing missions to advance the storyline Arena matches were also requisite to advance the plot. Like Project Phantasma before it Master of Arena allowed players to import save data from previous games and allowed them to carry over parts and credits to help them when starting a new game. Master of Arena was the first AC game to be split onto two discs with the first disc consisting of mission and story-based Arena portion of the game. The second disc held the "EX Arena", a large-scale Arena set up that allowed a player to face off against multiple opponents in multiple Arenas and unlock even more secret parts and earn even more credits. A "Ranker Maker" even existed which allowed players to create their own Arena stable with up to 10 fully customized opponents of their own making.
Features:
Play alone or with a friend by linking two consoles together
Earn credits and upgrade equipment by completing levels and missions successfully
Featuring over 180 Armored Core parts, 22 stages, ten fighting arenas, and 19 missions
Manufacturer's description:
NEW & DEADLY
Over 180 AC Parts - 27 Brand New
Battle 150 + of the Nastiest Ravens Ever
22 Battle Stages - 10 Brand New
19 Detailed Missions of Total Annihilation
10 All-New Fighting Arenas
DEEP ACTION
2 Discs = Massive Gameplay
Complete Successful Missions To Earn Credits & Upgrade Equipment
Use ALL Your Old Lethal Armored Core Creations
CLASSIC STANDARDS
Customize ACs Using Hundreds of Thousands of Different Weapon & Armor Combinations
2-Player Combat With Split-Screen & Link Cable Play
Attack Enemies Using Lightning Speed & Killer Weapons
Awesome RUN, SLIDE & FLY Maneuvers.
Features:
- Third person perspective.
- 3D graphics
- Cartoon graphics
- SCI-FI & Futuristic themes.
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